Device for feeding filled cans to closing-machines.



C. H. ENGLAR. DEVICE FOR FEEDING HLLED CANS T0 CLOSING MACHINES.

'7 APPLICATION FILED lpLY 29, 913. LELQQ QTI'O Patented May 25, 1915.

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DEVICE FOR FEEDING FILLED CANS T0 CLOSING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1913. P

Patented May 25, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CLAYTON EL. ENEZLAE, F BALTHIZOPUE,

sci/irate, ritooarcaarnn, or sraaou YORK.

MABYLAIJE, ASSIGNOE'K, T0 JQNTIFIENTAL Gill? $75, NEW YQERK, A. CQFQFORATIGBT 0Z3 FSEW DEVICE F0353 FEFDXNG: FILLED CFQNS 3Q CLOSEEGr-IMACFHNES.

Application filed an at, rate. serial no. ?81,8e5.

- To e55 whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, CLAYTON H. FlNeLAn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful llmprovements in Devices for Feeding Filled Gans to Closing-Machines, of which the following is description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to devices for feeding tilled cans to closing machines, the object being to provide an apparatus for receiving filled open top or so called sanitary cans from a filling machine of well known type and delivering them selectively to separate closing machines.

In closing filled cans, the filling apparatus of usual type receives, fills and delivers cans at a speed greater than the capacity of a closing machine. It has been heretofore proposed to arrange a plurality of closing machines working in conjunction with a filling machine through endless carriers, and to select from the carriers cans for each closing machine. The trouble with these devices has been that the contents of the cans are likely to spill from the jar of shifting them from one carrier to the other and laterally to the closing machine, thus losing some of the contents, and also fouling the endless carriers.

1 have devised a mechanism in which the danger of spilling is materially minimized, and in which the contents spilled, if any, may be readily removed without soaking into the material of the endless carrier, and by which the filled cans are carried directly from the filling machines to the closing machines without intermediate transfer.

The invention, therefore, consists in the matters hereinafter described and referred to in the appended claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view somewhat diarammatic, of an apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view enlarged, of a portion of the apparatus; Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the spring-steadying fingers; Figs. 4 and 5 are plan and sectional views respectively, of a modification of the construction of the closing machine plate and track.

in these drawings, 1 represents somewhat diagrammatically the filling machine, which may be of any approved type. The filled cans are delivered from this to a metal track 2, which may be bolted to a filling machine supporting framework, and of length sufficlent to embrace within its scope the desired number of closing machines 3, which the filling machine is intended to supply.

The cans are caused to travel along the track by an endless conveyer 4, having spaced fingers 5 thereon. This endless conveyer runs over a sprocket wheel 6 at one end, driven from the driving wheel 7 of the filling machine; At its other end the conveyer runs over a sprocket wheel 8. v

The track 2 is formed with a guide rail 9, to guide the cans in their travel. At a point opposite each closing machine 3, the track 2 is cut away as at 10 in Figs. 1 and 2, to conform to the periphery of the disk or plate of the closing machine, or as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the track and closing machine plate are beveled as at 11 and 12; in either event, the idea being to bring the closing machine within the path of the cans, and to make the contacting surfaces flush, so the can level will not be disturbed.

' As herein shown, I have constructed the apparatus to be used with four closing machines, of which the last is an auxiliary one, and is indicated at 3. When this is being used in lieu of one of the others, the cans are delivered to it by being positively guided from the track 2 by the guiding flange 13.

Opposite each of the first three closing machines, and on the framework of the machine, is mounted a sprocket wheel 14, rotated by the conveyer 4 in its return movement. As shown in Fig. 2, each of these sprocket wheels has twenty-one teeth on its periphery, this being the arrangement desirable when three closing machines are used, and the cans are arranged at intervals of seven links of the carrying chain apart as they come from the filling machines.

On the upper face of each sprocket wheel 14 is a wedge-shaped cam 15, the pointed end of which in the revolution of the wheel is adapted at intervals to engage the inner end of a lever 16, pivoted to the framework, and force it in, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, against the pressure of the spring 17 thus forcing out the outer ends 18 which are arc-shaped, and thereby projecting the cans in a gradually progressing outward it were not movement in an inclined path, upon the closing machine. When the widened end of the cam 15 has passed by and for a space of fourteen teeth of the sprocket, the cam does not engage the lever.

The fingers 5 which engage the cans and drag them along the track, are curved at their outer ends, as shown at 19, for the reason that as the cans are moving, when they reach the closing machine, at a speed several times greater than the speed of the closing machine, it has been found in praotice that when the can leaves the embrace of aperfectly straight finger and comes suddenly under the complete influenc'e'of the reduced speed of the closing machine, it is likely to be jarred, or to have a slight kick imparted to it. The curved end of the finger eases the can while passing out of engagement with the finger, and prevents spilling of the contents.

As a further guard in the prevention of spill from the cans which pass by certain closing machines and are selected by'the others, I have, as shown in detail in Fig. 3,

provided a spring-operated finger 20, which is pivoted to the finger 5, and co-acts therewith. By its spring action, it embraces one side of the can which is passing across the upper surface of a closing machine on its Way to the closing machine upon which it is to be placed. This spring-operated wire finger steadies the can while it is being dragged across the closing machine, which is turning in a direction away from the ath in which the can is traveling, and whic if for this finger, would tend to give a lateral drag to the can and either jar it or perhaps remove it from its longitudinal position. These spring fingers 20 are pivotedto the carrying fingers 5, which are formed integral with certain links of the sprocket chain, fand said fingers 20 are operated against the pressure of the springs 21 to release the can by the levers opposite the closing machines, which select the particular cans to be operated upon by the respective closing machines. 7

In the drawings, in the general view of the'machine, the cam on the first sprocket wheel is about to engage the lever to cause it to force out the can onto the first closing machine. The sprocket wheel turns through the space of seven teeth before this operation is completed, then the cam ceases its operation on the lever, the latter is spring returned, and for the space of fourteen teeth, the lever of the first sprocket is not operative and two cans pass by the first closing machine. a

In starting the machine, the parts are so timed that'the' first can will go by the first the inner end of the lever, the spring retracts the latter,

two closing machines, the first sprocket Wheel moving idle fourteen teeth; the second can will go by the first closing machine, the' sprocket wheel having already moved seven of the fourteen idle teeth; and the third can will be forced on to the first closing machine. Or when the first device has operated to force a can from the track, the second device begins to force its can from the track, and third device begins to operate.

It will be understood that by this apparatus, the filled cans are delivered to the dos ing machines with practically no shock, and, therefore, danger ofs ill is reduced to a minimum, and even if s ight spill of contents should occur, the track being of metal may be easily cleaned by merely turning a hose on it and flushing with water. 7

It will be understood that any one or all of the closing machines may be operated in connection with this apparatus, but if desired to throw one of the closing machines out of commission and fail to deliver cans thereto, all it is necessary to do is to take out the pivot oint of the projecting lever opposite said 0 osing machine and remove such lever.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to 'a plurality of closing machines, including a track or support for the cans along which they travel when received from the filling machine, a conveyer for moving the filled cans along the track, and means operated by the movement of the conveyer for delivering the cans from the conveyer to the closing machines.

2. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machines, including a track or support for the cans along which they travel whenreceived from the filling machines, a conveyer for moving the filled cans along the track, and mechanism arranged opposlte each closing machine for mg machines.

3. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machines, including a track or support for the cans .along which they travel when received from the filling machines, a conveyer for moving the filled cans along the track, and cam and lever mechanism arranged opposite each closing machine for engaging and delivering the cans to the closing machines.

4. Anapparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machines,'including a track or support for the cans along which they travel when received from the filling machines, a conveyer for moving the filled cans alon the track, and mechanism engaging and delivering the cans to the 010s when it has finished, the

arranged opposlte each closing machine for naeaeoa engaging and delivering the cans to the closing machines, said mechanisms being so timed as to operate in succession.

5. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machines, includin a track or support for the cans along whic they travel when received from the filling machines, a conveyer for moving the filled cans along the track, and cam and lever mechanism arranged opposite each closing machine for engaging and delivering the cans to the closing machines, said cam and lever mechanisms being so timed that they have respectively idle and operative movements in alternation.

6. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machines, compris ing a conveyer for receiving the filled cans from the filling machine and delivering the same to the closing machines, a device'opposite each closing machine movable transversely of the conveyer for forcing certain of the cans off from the conveyer onto the closing machine.

7. An apparatus for delivering the filled cans to a plurality of closing machines, includinga conveyer for receiving the filled cans from the filling machine and for moving the same in a single line past the closing machines and means at each closing machine operating upon certain of the cans only for removing the same. from the conveyer and delivering said cans onto the closing ma-' chine.

' 8. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machines, including a track or support for the cans along which they travel in a single line, a conveyer for moving them along the track, a rotating cam opposite each closing machine, and a swinging lever engaged by the cam to force a can from the track onto a closing machine.

9. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machines, includin a track or support for the cans along whic they travel in a single line, a conveyer for moving them along the track, a rotating cam opposite each closing machine, a swinging .leverengaged by the cam to force a can from the track onto a closing machine, and

a spring for returning the lever to normal position after it has operated on a can.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer having spaced fingers, means for forcing cans from the conveyer to a closing machine, and sprin -steadying fingers for holding the cans whil e they pass across a closing machine which is not to operate on them.

11. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machines, including a track and a conveyer for moving the cans along the track, a wheel opposite each closing machine operated by the return movement of the conveyer, a cam on each wheel, and a lever operated by each cam during a certain portion of the revolution of the wheel to be forced into engagement with a can to force it off the track onto the closing machine.

12. An apparatus for delivering filled cans to a plurality of closing machmes, including a track and a conveyer for moving the cans along the track, a Wheel opposite each closing machine operated by the return movement of the conveyer, a cam on each wheel, and a lever operated by each cam during a certain portion of the revolution of the wheel to be forced into engagement with a can to force it ofi the track onto the closing machine, the wheels being so timed as to their rotation that the cams thereon operate successively on the levers, whereby only certain cams will be selected by each lever, the remainder passing beyond to the action of succeeding levers.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

CLAYTON H. ENGL i Witnesses:

Fnmx R. SULLIVAN, Enema Lownnnn. 

